Flu Has Killed 2 Children In NYC, Health Officials Say

NEW YORK, NY — The flu outbreak that's sickened more than 36,000 people statewide has claimed the lives of two New York City children, city health officials confirmed Monday. An 8-year-old girl from Queens and a second unnamed kid in the city died of the virus in recent days, the Department of Health said.

The Queens girl was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital on Monday morning after her parents found her unconscious in bed, the NYPD said. The girl, identified by NY1 as Amely Baez of LeFrak City, had been diagnosed with the flu on Friday, police said. Several children at Baez's school have been sick, her neighbors told NY1.

Health officials did not give details of the second child's death.

"The tragic death of a child due to the flu is a reminder of the devastating effects this illness can have on people of all ages," Julien Martinez, a city Department of Health spokesman, said in a statement. "The influenza season is far from over, and it is not too late to get the flu shot."

The children are the second and third to die of the flu statewide but the first reported deaths within New York City, state and city health officials say. Six children from the city died during last year's flu season

The virus had killed 53 children across the United States as of Jan. 27, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 106 kids died from the virus nationwide last year.

The flu has run rampant in New York City for weeks amid what the CDC has called the "most severe" flu season in recent years. The five boroughs reported roughly 50 cases of the flu for every 100,000 people in the week ending Jan. 27, state figures show.

City health officials recorded more than 800 flu-related emergency room visits on Jan. 28. Flu-like illnesses accounted for 6.5 percent of visits to emergency rooms and clinics that monitor the virus as of Jan. 27, the city health department says.

That rate is well above the peak of any flu season in the last four years. The bulk of the visits are happening in Brooklyn and Queens, according to city data.

The H3N2 strain of the flu has caused about 80 percent of cases nationwide, the CDC says. The flu vaccine is generally less effective against that strain than others, federal health officials say.

Still, city and state officials have urged New Yorkers to get flu shots. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order allowing pharmacists to vaccinate kids as young as 2 in an effort to improve access to the vaccine.

Here's a map showing where you can get a flu shot if you still need one.

(Lead image: A registered nurse prepares a flu vaccine in Georgia on Feb. 5. Photo by David Goldman/Associated Press)